The Tale of Kurt & His Penguins
by MuseInMe3
Summary: As a young child, Kurt grows emotionally attached to a penguin stuffed animal that wears a red bow tie. One-shot written for Klaine Week 2012.


**A/N:** This one-shot was inspired by _Klaine Week_ (on tumblr: klaineweek2012) _Day 1_ prompt was _Klaine as kids/babies_. I had never planned to write them as children before, but this little drabble formed in my head and I needed to share it. Enjoy! xoxo

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee.

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><p>When Kurt Hummel was 5 years old, his beautiful mother, Elizabeth, took him shopping. She needed a new fancy dress for the wedding of her cousin in a couple of weeks. His father, Burt, was working that day. So she had to take Kurt with her. Kurt was a very well-behaved child and loved shopping for clothes, unlike some other small children they had seen during previous trips to the mall. But still, Elizabeth felt bad asking her son to sit all day in various change rooms. She decided to have Kurt choose a stuffed animal, from the toy store in the mall, to keep him company during what was sure to be a long day.<p>

Kurt took his time browsing the animals. His mother was patient and did not rush him. Hoping that he would return the favour when she was trying on dresses. Kurt quickly passed over the teddy bears because their tummies were too round and their various shades of brown were unappealing to him. He paused to look at the bunny rabbits. He liked their long ears and a few were very soft to his touch, but none of them felt quite right.

Kurt shuffled the animals around as he continued his search.

He rejected frogs for being too green, horses for being too gangly, and raccoons for being in masks when it wasn't Halloween.

And then he saw them.

Sitting quite dignified at the back of the shelf were a waddle of penguins. Kurt fell in love instantly. He reached through the mound of stuffed animals and grasped the flipper of the one closest to the front. The fur was soft and short. Perfect for brushing but not so long it would ever look matted. The orange of his beak and feet was a lovely shade, not too yellow and not too bright. But most importantly, Kurt loved how the penguin looked like he was already dressed for an important party.

Leaving the toy store, Kurt clutched the penguin tightly to his chest with one arm, while holding his mother's hand with the other. As they walked passed the men's tuxedo shop, Kurt stopped to stare in the window. He looked from the mannequin, dressed sharply in a black tuxedo with tails and red bow tie, to his penguin clasped in his arm. He immediately asked his mother to buy a red bow tie for his new friend. He wanted him to be the best dressed penguin around. And because Elizabeth loved that her son had an amazing fashion sense at such a young age, she said yes.

The penguin was the perfect distraction. Kurt happily sat chatting away to his new friend while his mother tried on multiple dresses. Kurt and his friend would offer their opinion on each garment that Elizabeth modeled for them. They eventually all agreed on a beautiful blue gown that was the same shade as Kurt's eyes.

Kurt grew more and more attached to his penguin as the days passed. He would insist on his friend having a chair at the dinner table and slept with him tucked under the covers each night. When Kurt had to leave the house without his penguin, because some places were not appropriate for a stuffed animal, he made sure that he had plenty of books to read and tea to drink.

Elizabeth and Burt adored Kurt and his new friend. Their only concern was that the penguin would become soiled or worn out and that Kurt would be upset. So as all pragmatic parents tend to do, Elizabeth returned to the toy store and purchased a second penguin. Then, every other week, she would swap penguins while Kurt was sleeping, ensuring that the little red bow tie was tightly fastened around his neck before tucking him back into bed.

It was after one such swap that Kurt climbed into his parents' bed early the next morning. He was still wearing his dark blue pajamas and his chestnut hair was a mess upon his head. He snuggled down between his parents and demanded that he be given the second penguin. At first his parents pretended that they didn't know what he was talking about, but Kurt was very persuasive, pointing out a small mark on the underside of his current friend that he was certain had not been there the night before but had in fact, been there a week ago. Knowing they were caught, his parents did the only thing they could and gave Kurt the second penguin. Of course, Kurt immediately insisted that they return to the mall later that day and purchase his second penguin his very own bow tie.

This time, Kurt chose a dark navy blue.

As they were leaving the mall, Kurt and his mother saw that the toy store where the penguins had been purchased was now out of business. Kurt hugged his two friends even tighter to his chest, grateful to have rescued them prior to the store closing.

When they arrived back home, Kurt's mother stopped him on his way up the stairs.

"You know now Kurt that I cannot replace them because the store is gone. So please be very careful with both penguins." Elizabeth had said kindly, smiling up at her son, her voice firm but warm.

"I know, mommy." Kurt said nodding his head a little. "Nothing is going to happen to them."

Kurt's second sentence was not said with the stubbornness of a five year-old child, but rather with the certainty of an adult. This piqued Elizabeth's interest.

"How can you be so sure?" She asked him curiously, without any sarcasm.

"Because they love each other." He replied confidently.

Elizabeth felt the tears form in her eyes instantly. His answer making her heart swell with pride for her son. It was not the most realistic of answers, or the most practical, but it was the most innocent and true. For what parent does not wish that their child believe that love for one another will keep all other harms away?

"When did you get so smart?" Elizabeth said softly, her eyes glistening up at Kurt.

Kurt just shrugged his shoulders. He knew that was one of those questions that adults ask but don't actually want you to answer. He still wasn't sure why they did that. He turned around on the stairs and proceeded to his room.

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><p>Years later, when the world had turned into a cruel place and Kurt had learned that loving someone with all your heart was not enough to keep them from harm, the nameless penguins sat huddled together on a bookshelf in his room. He no longer believed in fairy tales and imaginary friends. He did believe that his mother still loved him, but that was cold comfort on the days when words were slung like arrows straight to his heart and his body was covered in bruises from where hate had touched him.<p>

But today was different.

Kurt came home from high school, flung his bag into the corner of his bedroom and snatched the penguins off the shelf. He studied their faces for a moment before crashing them both to his chest in a warm embrace. He sighed contentedly and brought them over to his bed. He stood them up so that they were facing each other. He fluffed up the blankets beneath one of the penguins so that he was a little taller than the other.

Kurt lifted the right flipper on the penguin with the red bow tie, and in a voice that sounded like a dream said, "My name's Blaine."

The penguin with the blue bow tie raised his right flipper, so that their flippers touched in the space between them. In a voice filled with hope, and the innocence once contained in the heart of a child, said "Kurt."


End file.
